Stead to step away from white-ball coaching, yet to decide on Test future

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead will step away from white-ball formats and has a few weeks to decide if he wishes to reapply for the Test role.

Stead was first appointed to the position in 2018 following the resignation of Mike Hesson. He then had his contract renewed twice in 2020 and 2023. Stead's current contract expires in June.

Under Stead, New Zealand won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 and whitewashed India in India 3-0.

"I'm looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future," Stead said. "My focus has been on finishing the season strongly with a lesser experienced team. The past six to seven months has been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September. I now want to evaluate my options but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as Head Coach across all formats.

"The next month will give me the opportunity to discuss the situation more with my wife, family and others. I'll be in a better position to know whether I want to reapply for the Test coaching position after this time of reflection."

NZC Chief High Performance Officer Bryan Stronach said: "Gary's results have been very impressive over a long period and we're very comfortable giving him some time to collect his thoughts and mull things over.

"At the moment we haven't any strong preference for either a split-coaching role or a sole appointment who covers all three formats, and we're unlikely to be clearer on that until we see who's putting their name forward."

The advertisements for the coaching position will happen "within the next week or so," said a New Zealand Cricket media release.